The present invention relates to an electronic device connector.
Further, the present invention relates to an electronic device connector, and more particularly, to a connector terminal for an electronic device for connecting an electronic device such as a camera device to an external device through a relay contact.
FIG. 31 shows an electronic device connector disclosed in Patent Document 1.
An electronic device connector 1100 includes a connector housing 1110 that is combined with an end (in FIG. 31, an upper end) 1211 of a case 1210 of an electronic device 1200, and a linear conductor 1120 which is a terminal fitting supported by the connector housing 1110.
The electronic device 1200 is provided with a circuit board 1220 in an internal space on a side of an end 1211 of the case 1210. Further, a relay terminal 1230 is provided in a mounting hole 1214 formed through a partition wall 1213 which corresponds to the end 1211.
In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the electronic device 1200 is an on-vehicle camera. Although not shown, a camera lens is provided at the other end (in FIG. 31, a lower end) 1212 of the case 1210, and an imaging element that is disposed coaxially with the lens is mounted on the circuit board 1220.
On a surface of the circuit board 1220 on a side of the relay terminal 1230, a contact portion 1221 which is an output terminal portion of the imaging element is provided.
The relay terminal 1230 is pinched by the contact portion 1221 and the linear conductor 1120 to electrically connect the contact portion 1221 and the linear conductor 1120. The relay terminal 1230 includes a cylindrical rubber 1231 that is tightly fitted into the mounting hole 1214, and a conductor part 1232 that is buried into the rubber 1231. The conductor part 1232 is an aggregation of plural particle-shaped conductors 1232a, which is extendable in an axial direction (in FIG. 27, an arrow Y1 direction), and absorbs an error in a separation distance between the linear conductor 1120 and the contact portion 1221 due to an assembly error or the like.
FIGS. 32 and 33 show an electronic device connector disclosed in Patent Document 2.
An electronic device connector 1140 includes a connector housing 1141 that is combined with an end (in FIG. 32, a lower end) 1241a of a case 1241 of an electronic device 1240, and a terminal fitting 1142 that is supported by the connector housing 1141.
The electronic device 1240 is an on-vehicle camera. As shown in FIG. 32, a camera lens 1242, and a circuit board 1243 on which an imaging element that converts light incident from the lens 1242 into a video image signal are provided inside the case 1241 of the electronic device 1240. The circuit board 1243 is provided at one end 1241a which is an end portion of the case 1241 on a side of the electronic device connector 1140. Further, a contact portion which comes into contact with the terminal fitting 1142 is provided on an outer surface (surface on the side of the electronic device connector 1140) 1243a of the circuit board 1243.
The terminal fitting 1142 is configured by two components, that is, a terminal body 1143 that is fixed and supported to the connector housing 1141, and a spring piece 1144 that is fitted and connected to one end of the terminal body 1143.
The terminal body 1143 includes a fit connecting portion 1143a that protrudes into a connector fitting portion 1141a of the connector housing 1141, and a spring piece connecting portion 1143b that protrudes from a rear side of the connector housing 1141. The fit connecting portion 1143a is a portion to which the terminal fitting in the other party connector to be fitted to the connector fitting portion 1141a is fitted and connected. Further, the spring piece connecting portion 1143b is a portion to which the spring piece 1144 is fitted and connected.
As shown in FIG. 33, the spring piece 1144 includes a base end portion 1144a that is fitted and connected to the spring piece connecting portion 1143b of the terminal body 1143, a bending portion 1144c that extends from the base end portion 1144a and is bent in an approximately V-shaped form, a tip side arm portion 1144d that extends from the bending portion 1144c, and a contact connecting portion 1144e that is provided on a tip of the tip side arm portion 1144d to be in contact with a contact portion on the circuit board 1243.
The bending portion 1144c in the spring piece 1144 supports the tip side arm portion 1144d to be flexibly deformable in an axis direction of the terminal fitting (an arrow X3 direction in FIG. 29), and generates, when the contact connecting portion 1144e comes into contact with the contact portion on the circuit board 1243, an elastic force for pressing the contact connecting portion 1144e against the contact portion with a predetermined contact pressure, so that a state where the contact portion on the circuit board 1243 and the terminal body 1143 are in an electrical connection state is maintained.
The terminal fitting 1142 absorbs an assembly error generated between the circuit board 1243 and the terminal fitting 1142 by flexible deformation of the tip side arm portion 1144d. 
The connector disclosed in Patent Document 2 is provided to reduce the number of components, to effectively simplify its assembly for miniaturization, and to improve reliability of an electrical connection.
To this end, specifically, a mounting portion for a substrate on which a module device is mounted and a connector fitting portion for an external connection are provided in a case of an electronic device. Further, a connector terminal of the electronic device includes a connector connecting portion at one end thereof and a locking portion for a relay contact at the other end thereof. Further, the connector connecting portion is provided to the case to protrude towards the connector fitting portion of the case, and the locking portion is provided to the case to protrude towards the substrate mounting portion of the case. Further, the relay contact includes an elastic pinching piece and an elastic contact piece, is connected to the locking portion of the connector terminal by the elastic pinching piece, and is electrically connected to the substrate by the elastic contact piece.
Thus, by merely inserting one end of the connector terminal into the relay contact to pinch the locking portion of the connector terminal by the elastic pinching piece provided in the relay contact, it is possible to connect the contact terminal and the relay contact, and to perform an electrical connection to the substrate by the elastic contact piece of the relay contact. Thus, the structure becomes simple, the number of components is reduced to easily achieve miniaturization, and the assembly is simply performed to reduce the number of processes of assembly.
Further, if the relay contact is configured to include plural elastic contact pieces, it is possible to effectively prevent a connection error.
In addition, if the lengths of the plural elastic contact pieces are set to be different from each other, resonance frequency varies for each elastic contact piece, and thus, it is possible to effectively prevent a connection error due to vibrations during traveling when a module device is an in-vehicle monitor camera, for example.
However, since an internal conductor of the connector is made of a solid cylindrical member, a method for connecting members other than the connector connecting portion to the substrate is necessary.
Further, an external conductor is formed by a plate material and has a hollow cylindrical shape, but similarly, the members other than the connector portion should have a substrate connecting portion for welding or the like. Thus, although the connection of the coaxial connector portion and the substrate is performed by direct wielding, a connecting portion (welded portion) is not movable (up and down, right and left, forward and backward).
Further, the relay contact has a difficulty in achieving miniaturization since the member is necessary for each electrode and a connecting portion with respect to the electrode becomes large.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2011-258422
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2007-220511